11/22 - Technovation Mtg (see details below)
11/23 - 1/2 Day for Students and Staff
8th Grade Turkey Bowl
Celebration of Voice Assembly
11/24 - Happy Thanksgiving!
11/25 - No School
12/7 - 1/2 Day for Students
Professional Afternoon for Staff
Spaghetti with Santa
12/8 - Grades 6-8 Chorus Concert
12/9 - Hour of Code at Blake
Term 1 Report Cards go Home
12/12 - Blake Site Council Mtg (3:30 p.m.)
12/13 - 7th Grade to A Christmas Carol
Blake PTO Meeting - 9 a.m.
12/14 - Grades 6-8 Band Concert
12/15 - Grades 6-8 Orchestra Concert
12/16 - 8th Grade to XITC
12/23 - 1/2 Day for Students
12/24-1/2 - No School
1/3 - School Resumes
Topic/Question for the Dinner Table
To help encourage conversations and dialogue about gratitude and learning, our topic/question for the dinner table is: How can thankfulness and gratitude help foster a community of learners? Please see link to Google Form to share your responses: Thankful Learners (Week of 11/21/16) (This is an anonymous Google Form)
7th Grade SOS Program Follow Up
The Guidance Department implemented the 7th grade SOS Signs of Suicide Program this week. This is the only school-based suicide prevention program selected by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for its National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices that addresses suicide risk and depression, while reducing suicide attempts. 83% of the students in grade 7 participated in the program. Of those students, 94% of students answered "0-2 unlikely to have depression" on the Brief Screening for Adolescent Depression. For students that expressed concerns about themselves or a friend, those students have met with their guidance counselor and parents have been notified. We will continue to work with students and families to provide support and resources for all our students.
Technovation Information
Attn: BlakeGirls!
Do you want to help change people's lives for the better by coding an app- then you would be perfect for joining Blake's Technovation Teams! You don't have to be an expert at coding or anything, just someone who likes to work with others, contribute ideas, and be willing to learn new things like coding, giving a pitch, and more!
What is Technovation?
Technovation offers girls around the world the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders. Girls ages 10 to 18 learn to identify a problem in their community and create a mobile app solution to address that problem, and then learn how to communicate these ideas and translate them into a fully launched business. Check out www.TechnovationChallenge.org for more info. (Please do not sign up there)
When do we meet?
Blake's Technovation Teams meet every Tuesday after school until 4pm from November-March. Your individual teams will also try to meet an additional time each week too. It could be during lunch or meeting at a team member's house or through google hangout, etc.
*Our regular meetings will begin Tuesday, November 29th.
Special Events
Technovation holds special events and workshops at Microsoft, MIT and other cool places for all Technovation Teams in Massachusetts. Check out the events and watch the short video here. Come to an informational meeting to learn more about Technovation next Tuesday, November 22 right after school until 2:45ish. See Ms. Horvath with any questions!
Recess Reminder for All Parents/Guardians
This is a gentle reminder to families that students are going outside for recess and should bring weather-appropriate clothing like winter jackets and gloves so that they will be warm outdoors.
Reminder for all Blake Students and Families
This is a reminder that as a school we will not be orchestrating 'Secret Santa' type activities for students in which gifts are being purchased and/or given. For a number of reasons, school is not the proper forum for the exchange of gifts, and we appreciate your understanding and support.
MWAHS Follow Up
The administration of the 2016 MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey went exceptionally well. Our students and teachers should be commended for the terrific job they did helping that project run smoothly. Thanks to all who pitched in to help! We anticipate receiving the results of the survey at the end of the school year, and will have information available to share with staff, students, parents, and the community next fall.
Hearing and Vision Screening
Hearing and vision screening will be held the week of November 28, 2016 for all 7th grade students as mandated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The purpose of this screening is to identify students who may have hearing or vision issues requiring medical follow up. Our school nurse, Tricia Williams, will be conducting the screenings during physical education classes assisted by other trained nurses. Please be sure your child wears his/her contacts or brings his/her glasses to school to use during the vision portion of the screening. Please contact Tricia via e-mail by next Wednesday, November 23, 2016 or send in a written note if you prefer your child not participate in the school’s hearing/vision screening. Tricia can be reached at [email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns about the screening process, Tricia can also be reached at 508-242-8554. She will be contacting you directly if your child does not pass the screenings and requires medical evaluation.
Christmas in the City
Permission slips will be going home soon for the 8th grade's field trip to Christmas in the City. In the next few weeks 8th grade advisories will be busy shopping for gifts for children attending the Christmas in the City Event. Each 8th grade advisory is responsible for purchasing a gift for a child off of his or her wish list, worth up to $50, in order to help keep the magic and spirit of the holidays alive for these children. The 8th grade will be purchasing gifts for 14 children and will deliver these gifts when they attend the Christmas in the City community service field trip on December 16. Contributions towards the cost of the buses are greatly appreciated - checks should be made out to Blake Middle School with Xmas in the City Transportation in the memo line.
26 Days of Kindness
The four year anniversary of the tragic events in Newtown will be upon us shortly. At Blake, we will be continuing a tradition started two years ago by honoring those who died that day by asking everyone in the Blake community to participate in 26 Days of Kindness. On the document, you will see the acts of kindness are not 'big', nor are they complicated, yet each can make an impact on someone, including each of us. On Friday of each week you will see that the acts are a little 'bigger' in nature. We encourage you to print out the document and post it in a public spot (i.e. refrigerator) for your entire family to reference during the next month. We are going to document these days and put them together in a way that we can refer back to easily and remind ourselves that kindness is something we all can practice every day. I encourage you to check out the links for 26 Days of Kindness on Mrs. Gumas's website - mrsgumas.com. During the weekend or over the Thanksgiving holiday, if you see your student partaking in an act of kindness and could take a picture or video, please post it to the Kindness padlet.
Slipper Drive
For one of the 26 days of kindness at Blake this year, there will be a collection of new slippers for Little Cup of Hope, a Wellesley based organization that raises money for Pediatric Cancer patients at Children’s Hospital. This year Little Cup of Hope is collecting new slippers again to donate to patients staying at Children’s Hospital this holiday season. Please look for the collection box in front of Blake’s Library from November 21-28th. The slippers collected during the 26 Days of Kindness will all go to these children. Slippers must be new. Slippers sizes can be for toddlers, school-aged children and adolescents. They have a goal of collecting 100 pairs of slippers.
#MedfieldPS Twitter Chat Follow Up
I encourage everyone to check out the 'storify' archives of our district-wide #MedfieldPS chats below from this year - last week's chat had a focus on #DLDMedfield, and I have copied the links to the 'storify' archives of all of our previous chats. The goal of these chats is to bring the five schools together (staff and administration) to discuss pertinent topics in education, initiatives, and ideas to collaborate around and share. Hopefully you will be able to follow along, lurk, or join in one of our future chats!
https://storify.com/nat_vaughn/medf
(#DLDMedfield)
https://storify.com/nat_vaughn/medfieldps-safe-learning-environments
(Safe Learning Environments)
https://storify.com/nat_vaughn/medfieldps-57e2929f8c7e6bca7fc31872
(Empathy)
https://storify.com/nat_vaughn/medfield-ps-a-community-of-learners-7-25-16
(A Community of Learners)
Private School Information
For those families looking to apply to private school for next year, please make sure all materials (all teacher recommendation forms, transcript request, an 8x11 envelope and 4 stamps per envelope) are to the guidance office at least 3 weeks prior to the application due date. We want to make sure the teachers have sufficient time to provide thoughtful letters for all students applying. If the forms will be sent electronically to the teachers, please email Mrs. Avery and your student's guidance counselor to inform them. Mrs. Avery tracks all applications and makes sure they get out in time. Any questions, please contact Mr. Marenghi (6th), Ms. Allen (7th) or Mrs. Dondero (8th).
Parent iPad Survey Fall 2016
As you know we are continually working on assessing our programs and are looking to gain insight from our students and parents to provide feedback. We have developed a survey that is being distributed electronically to all 6th-8th grade students and parents as part of a data collection assessment for the iPad Initiative. The questions will hopefully serve as a pre-assessment (beginning of year) tool and we will be administering similar surveys at the end of the year as well. The questions have to do with organizational skills, executive functioning, and comfort with technology. Questions are being sent to all three grades. The survey is not an evaluative tool of the teachers or the students; rather, it is a tool that we believe will help us gain insight about the initiative, our programming, and technology. The questionnaire is anonymous, and your identity can not and will not be discovered through the completion of this survey. Please take the time to complete a unique survey for each student you have at Blake Middle School. You will see that the survey is for both students and parents, and students will be given time in school to complete it. It is important we only get one response per student. We sincerely appreciate your honest responses and are hoping for 100% participation from the student body and parents. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes of your time. Your sincere responses are essential to our information-gathering vision and mission. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Link to the survey: Student/Parent iPad Survey Fall 2016
Turkey Bowl - 8th Grade
8th Graders will once again take to the gridiron this year in an attempt to raise food for the Medfield Food Cupboard and raise student awareness that there are local families in need. The annual event is called the Turkey Bowl and this year it will take place Wednesday, November 23. Students are asked to sign-up, in teams of four, with their Physical Education Teachers. As an entry fee, students will be required to bring in one non-perishable food item per player. This is an exciting and fun event and we are hoping to get every 8th grader to play.
Book Discussion Group for Parents
The next Blake Site Council/Blake community book will be The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children by Alison Gopnik. Stay tuned for more information!
Angel Run
It is week #9 in your Angel Run training program. There’s only 1 week to go so be sure to do your three sessions this week if you plan on the extra serving of pie on Thanksgiving!! Your assignment: 20 minutes of running followed by 1 minute of walking (only if needed) and another 10 minutes running. You will be race day ready! Join the 1,250+ registered runners. Sign up on race day if you missed the online registration. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Running!
BLAKE PTO UPDATE
MEDFIELD SPIRIT WEAR IS HERE - ONLINE STORE OPEN THRU DECEMBER 1st Medfield K-8 PTO has partnered with Tri-Valley Sports, located in Medway, to offer a selection of tshirts, sweathirts and sweatpants. Check out our online store https://trivalley.tuosystems.com/stores/medfield-holiday-2016, and don’t delay - the store will only be open until DECEMBER 1st to allow time for customization and delivery by the Holidays. You can pay to have it shipped direct to you, or save some money by picking up from the store, your choice! All apparel is branded Medfield, and is non sport or club specific. For those interested in Under Armor - due to overwhelming demand all UA stock is currently backordered until the Spring. We will review in a few months to see if we can offer another store at that time and include UA brand.
BLAKE TEACHER & STAFF THANK YOU FUND - Has a teacher or staff member at Blake done something special for your child? Something above and beyond what is expected? Or do you simply want to just say thank you for all you do each and every day? NOW IS YOUR CHANCE! Anyone may contribute a financial gift to a teacher or staff member at any time. The teacher/staff member can use these funds to purchase books, apps, games, supplies and other items for their classroom as needed. This is a great way to say thank you and give your child’s teacher a little extra something that will benefit both the teacher and the children in their class. This is all you have to do:
1. Write a check made payable to BLAKE PTO with a note in the memo line (or separate note) indicating which teacher’s or staff member’s fund you are contributing to (one check can be distributed to multiple funds).
2. Send the check (and note for the recipient if you would like) to school in an envelope with your child and include Erika Clarke, Blake PTO Treasurer on the envelope.
A note and certificate will be sent on your behalf to the teacher/staff member letting them know that you have contributed to their fund. Please contact Kim Price mailto:[email protected] with any questions.
ONGOING BAY STATE TEXTILE FUNDRAISER - Donate unwanted textiles to one of the bins located at the schools, transfer station or Hinkley Pond. For more information, go to our website and visit Bay State Textiles.
PTO MEETING - Please join us for our next PTO meeting on December 13th @ 9:00 am in the Blake LMC.
DON’T MISS OUR POSTS SENT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK - Like us on Facebook Medfield K-8 PTO, follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/MedfieldK8PTO
MCPE Update
The E4E (Entertaining for Education) tradition in Medfield is alive and well. Haven't heard of it yet or new to town? It's pretty simple- throw a party or an event, charge an admission price ($25/head or $25/family is the minimum suggested) and donate the proceeds to the MCPE in support of the Medfield Public Schools. We've seen Halloween parties, nights in with friends, comedy events, wine tastings, multivendor markets... The only limit is your creativity. Need more information or ideas? Email [email protected]